Management of a touchscreen interface of a device

ABSTRACT

Method and system are provided for management of a touchscreen interface of a device. The method includes monitoring touchscreen interface function by logging data relating to user interaction with locations of the touchscreen interface. The logged data is then analyzed to identify one or more areas of the touchscreen interface which are inactive. The remaining active areas of the touchscreen interface are modeled to form a modified touchscreen interface. An original touchscreen interface is then mapped to the modified touchscreen interface resulting in only use of the remaining active areas.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to touchscreen interfaces of devices andmore specifically, to management of a touchscreen interface tocompensate for screen damage.

Many mobile or cell phones and tablets use touchscreens for the mainuser interface for their functionality. Touchscreens are also providedon terminals such as game consoles, personal computers, satellitenavigation devices, eBooks, etc.

Touchscreens are electronic visual displays that a user can controlthough touch and gestures by one or more fingers, a stylus or pen.

A wide variety of touchscreen technologies have been developed and thisis a field of continuing rapid development. Touchscreen technologiesinclude: resistive touchscreens using electrically-resistive layersseparated by a thin space; capacitive touchscreen panels consisting ofan insulator such as glass coated with a transparent conductor; surfaceacoustic wave technology touchscreens using ultrasonic waves that passover the touchscreen panel; infrared grid touchscreens using an array ofinfrared light emitting diodes and photo detector pairs; etc.

All touchscreens are susceptible to damage. Mobile devices are alsoincreasingly being used in a wide range of situations, which increasestheir risk of damage. Damage may result in only a portion of the screenbeing rendered unusable.

Replacement of touchscreens is possible but may be inconvenient andexpensive. Therefore, a temporary or cost effective solution to apartially damaged screen is needed in order to enable a user to carry onusing the device effectively until the damage is resolved by screenreplacement or repair.

In addition, there may be some damage in the mechanism below the screenwhich replacement of the screen may not resolve. In such cases, asolution for using the remaining functional area of the screen may beneeded.

Therefore, there is a need in the art to address the aforementionedproblems.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is providedmethod for management of a touchscreen interface of a device,comprising: monitoring touchscreen interface function by logging datarelating to user interaction with locations of the touchscreeninterface; analyzing the logged data to identify one or more areas ofthe touchscreen interface which are inactive; modeling the remainingactive areas of the touchscreen interface to form a modified interface;and mapping an original touchscreen interface to the modified interfaceresulting in only use of the remaining active areas.

This method has the advantage that it enables a touchscreen interface tocontinue to be used when a portion of the interface is damaged orotherwise in operable.

Logging data relating to user interaction with locations of thetouchscreen interface may log data for different application graphicaluser interfaces. This enables different uses of the touchscreen to bemonitored and evaluated.

Analyzing the logged data may learn from user interactions withlocations of the touchscreen interface. Analyzing the logged data mayapply rules and thresholds to determine if an area is inactive.Analyzing the logged data may include dividing the touchscreen interfaceinto discrete areas and determining if each area is active or inactive;and wherein the step of modeling may use the discrete areas to build themodel. The different forms of analysis may enable learning of userhabits and determining differing behavior suggesting user interfaceinoperability of areas.

The step of monitoring touchscreen interface function may include:invoking a training interaction prompting a user to interact with atouchscreen interface in a known manner. This enables a user to promptthe monitoring due to a known problem with the touchscreen interface.

The method may include providing visual feedback of the one or moreareas of the touchscreen interface which are inactive or active. Avisual indication to the user may be beneficial if the damage is notvisible on the touchscreen interface.

Monitoring touchscreen interface functions may include: recording usageof locations of the touchscreen interface over time and logging successor failure of interactions at locations.

Monitoring touchscreen interface functions may further include:recording usage of graphical user interface elements and the success orfailure of interactions with the elements and the locations of theelements in the touchscreen interface.

Monitoring touchscreen interface functions may still further include:monitoring motion of the device or rotation of the device display andrecording such monitored motion or rotation in relation to interactionwith the touchscreen interface.

Monitoring touchscreen interface functions may include: monitoring auser's finger motion towards the device and recording such monitoredmotion in relation to interaction with the touchscreen interface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda system for management of a touchscreen interface of a device,comprising: a monitoring component for monitoring touchscreen interfacefunction by logging data in a database relating to user interaction withlocations of the touchscreen interface; a data analyzing component foranalyzing the logged data to identify one or more areas of thetouchscreen interface which are inactive; a modeling component formodeling the remaining active areas of the touchscreen interface to forma modified interface; and a virtual interface mapping component formapping an original touchscreen interface to the modified interfaceresulting in only use of the remaining active areas.

The monitoring component for logging data relating to user interactionwith locations of the touchscreen interface may log data for differentapplication graphical user interfaces.

The data analyzing component for analyzing the logged data may applyrules and thresholds to determine if an area is inactive.

The analyzing component for analyzing the logged data may includedividing the touchscreen interface into discrete areas and determiningif each area is active or inactive; and wherein the modeling componentuses the discrete areas to build the model.

The system may include a training component for invoking a traininginteraction prompting a user to interact with a touchscreen interface ina known manner.

The system may also include a feedback component for providing visualfeedback of the one or more areas of the touchscreen interface which areinactive or active.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided acomputer program product for management of a touchscreen interface of adevice, the computer program product comprising a computer readablestorage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, theprogram instructions executable by a processor to cause the processorto: monitor touchscreen interface function by logging data relating touser interaction with locations of the touchscreen interface; analyzethe logged data to identify one or more areas of the touchscreeninterface which are inactive; model the remaining active areas of thetouchscreen interface to form a modified interface; and map an originaltouchscreen interface to the modified interface resulting in only use ofthe remaining active areas.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provideda method substantially as described with reference to the figures.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided asystem substantially as described with reference to the figures.

The described aspects of the invention provide the advantage of enablingeffective use of only a portion of a touchscreen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification.The invention, both as to organization and method of operation, togetherwith objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understoodby reference to the following detailed description when read with theaccompanying drawings.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, byway of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of elements used in a method in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example embodiment of a method inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example embodiment of an aspect of amethod in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are block diagrams of an example embodiment of a systemin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a data processing systemin which the present invention may be implemented; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communication device inwhich the present invention may be implemented.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale.For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements for clarity. Further, where consideredappropriate, reference numbers may be repeated among the figures toindicate corresponding or analogous features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Method and system are described for management of a touchscreeninterface of a device. Monitoring of a touchscreen interface may becarried out to obtain information and determine if areas of thetouchscreen are non-responsive. The non-responsiveness of the areas maybe due to damage to the touchscreen of various forms, which may bevisible or may be in hidden aspects of the touchscreen.

Responsive to locating unusable non-responsive areas, the obtainedinformation may be used to model a portion of the touchscreen that isactive, excluding the non-responsive areas. The active portion may beone or more discrete areas of the touchscreen. For example, if thetouchscreen is damaged across of central band area, this may leave twoactive portions above and below the damage.

A virtual screen layout may then be rearranged based on this model sothat it only uses the active areas. This method provides a model thatwill intelligently determine which sections of the screen arenon-responsive to touch and will alter the touchscreen interface toallow as close to a full range of operations as possible. This mayinvolve management of the user interface to resize it, divide it intoone or more areas, and rearrange control elements or graphics within theuser interface.

The touchscreen interface generally corresponds to a display interfaceof the device. The display interface may also be modified in acorresponding manner to reflect the rearrangement of the touchscreeninterface.

The described method provides logic to determine which sections of atouchscreen interface are inactive and inoperable and then uses thisinformation to recalibrate the device's interface and display so that itonly utilizes the sections of the touchscreen which are active, so thatusers can still operate the device after a screen breakage or otherdamage.

With reference to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram 100 illustrates thedescribed method. A computing device 110 having a touchscreen interface120 is shown. The touchscreen interface 120 includes a display of imagesand touchscreen operation by user interaction with the touchscreeninterface 120. The user interaction may be with reference to displayedelements, such as buttons or selectable components, or may be generalgestures for issuing commands or navigating the display.

The touchscreen interface 120 has an original area 121, which is useablefor touchscreen operations. With reference to FIG. 1, part of thetouchscreen interface 120 is an inactive area 122 due to damage in theform of a crack 123 in the screen preventing the touchscreen interface120 from functioning fully in this area. A remaining active area 124 ofthe touchscreen interface 120 is determined and used using the describedmethod.

The method provides a mapping 130 of the original screen layout 131 andthe functions provided in the original screen layout of graphical userinterfaces to a virtual screen layout 134 corresponding to the remainingactive area 124.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flow diagram 200 shows an embodiment of thedescribed method. The described functionality of the method may beprovided by the operating system of the device, by application softwareinstalled on the device, or as a combination of the two.

The touchscreen interface function may be monitored 201 to determine theoperational areas of the touchscreen interface. The monitoring 201 maybe carried out as a background process, which continually monitors theresults of the use of the touchscreen interface. Alternatively oradditionally, an ad-hoc monitoring 201 may be carried out at the requestof a user, for example, if they believe that part of the touchscreeninterface is not functioning.

The monitoring 201 may include many different aspects, which monitordifferent functions, uses and/or activities of the touchscreeninterface. The monitored aspects may be logged 202 in a database. Somemonitored aspects are listed below.

A set of touchscreen areas' usage over time may be recorded to identifywhether any of the touchscreen areas are no longer used. The touchscreenmay be divided into a set of areas. The frequency and times ofsuccessful operations in different areas of the touchscreen may berecorded and logged. This may identify inactive areas.

The location of each virtual button per display position may be loggedand the success or failure of pressing each virtual button may berecorded. This may be carried out by recording and logging a history ofbuttons pressed and which section of the screen they were in whensuccessfully used.

Screen rotations may be recorded to identify instances where a virtualbutton works in one aspect of a landscape or portrait display, but notthe other. It is possible for a user to circumvent the problem of brokensections of a touchscreen by rotating the device to move the buttons toworking sections. The monitoring may learn from the user performingthese manual circumvention options. Device motion and/or screen displayrotation may be recorded and logged just prior to a success.

Finger motion towards the touchscreen may be detected, for example,using the device's camera and a record kept of success and no success ofsubsequent actions indicating active areas and inactive areasrespectively. A timing window post this event may exist say for 10seconds and it will record the area touched with a successful action.

A training process may be carried out as an ad-hoc monitoring 201 of atouchscreen interface. The training process is described further belowand involves pre-defined user actions, which are monitored to determineinactive areas of the touchscreen interface.

The monitored data may be logged 202 with reference to areas of thetouchscreen interface. The areas may be referenced in a grid ofcoordinates of the touchscreen interface and may be of varying size andmay include areas of individual pixel size, regular areas of severalpixel wide squares, to larger areas representing the location of aninterface button display.

The logged data may be stored in a database, which may be internal tothe device. The logged data may include a reference to the originallocation in the touchscreen interface, an application or program usingthe interface, and whether the interaction was successful. For example,this may be recorded as: “LOCATION:APPLICATION:SUCCESS?”. The locationof user interface interactions, such as buttons, applications, orselectable components, in a graphical user interface for a given use ofthe interface by an application or program is known and logged againstan area or segment. The success or failure of such user interfaceinteractions is logged.

If there are differences between the original area recorded for the userinterface interaction for an application and the one used by a user,this is noted and an indication made against the original location orarea that it may have problems.

The monitored and logged data may be analyzed 203 to identify one ormore areas of the touchscreen interface as being inactive enabling themethod to model 204 the remaining area, which is active. This mayinclude applying threshold measures to the likelihood that an area isinactive due to the analysis of the logged area.

The method may then provide 205 a virtual screen layout mapping theoriginal screen layout to a modified screen layout based on the modeledactive area. The mapping may transform user interfaces for the operatingsystem and applications to map the original area of the user interfaceto the modeled remaining area or areas. The mapping may resize the userinterface, divide into discrete areas, rearrange control elements andgraphical elements, etc.

Known methods of resizing a user interface may be used, for example, asknown in large form factor devices which allow resizing of the userinterface for single-handed use by restricting the user interface areato one portion of the touchscreen.

The outcome of the model is a modified screen layout avoiding inactivesections of the touchscreen interface. The active portion may be one ormore discrete areas of the touchscreen and the modified screen layoutmay make use of the discrete areas and may display the modified screenlayout accordingly. For example, if the touchscreen is damaged across ofcentral band area, this may leave two active portions above and belowthe damage.

Additionally, inactive areas may be identified through a use of color orother display on the touchscreen interface.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flow diagram 300 shows an aspect of the describedmethod of providing a training program for a touchscreen interface. Thismay be provided as a software application based tool.

This method may be invoked 301 by a user who is experiencingdifficulties with a touchscreen and may be in addition to a backgroundmonitoring as described in step 201 of FIG. 2 or as an alternativemonitoring procedure.

The method may prompt 302 the user to interact with the touchscreeninterface in a known manner. For example, the user may be asked to runtheir finger across the touchscreen in a defined pattern. The patternmay be displayed to the user on the touchscreen interface, for example,as a arrow to follow. The resultant data may be logged 303 for analysis.

Direct feedback may be provided 304 by coloring the screen as the usertouches it. In one embodiment, active regions may be colored andinactive regions may remain uncolored. In another embodiment, the entirescreen may start as red and touching pixels in an active area may turnit from red to green. If the user follows a directed route the finalresult will be all green except for the areas that are unresponsive thatwill remain red.

The method may then proceed 305 as from step 203 of FIG. 2 with analysisof the inactive regions. This may provide a manual counterpart to themonitoring described above in step 201 of FIG. 2.

EXAMPLE

A touchscreen interface is cracked and the top 20% of the display in theportrait position is non-responsive. The other 80% is working normally.

Inputs to Model

Location of the damage is modeled using one or more of the describedtechniques.

Data may be built up of how often small areas of the screen (forexample, 5mm squares) are touched over time. If it is logged that in thepast week, a certain region that is usually tapped often now has notbeen tapped, the region may be marked as inactive. Additionally, it maybe possible to analyze contiguous dead areas to trace out cracks. Thisstep provides learning data by use of the touchscreen interface.

The location of each button per display position may be logged with ascreen section. For example, the display may be divided into sections of4 areas across and down in which buttons may be provided. If asuccessful use of a button is recorded, the location and success will belogged. A record of button position and screen section and the time oflast success in this section will be recorded and logged.

When a successful action is recorded, a record may be made of the timeand any screen rotation which might have altered the display prior tothe successful action.

Finger motion to the screen may be detected and a record of subsequentaction success or no success may be logged.

Decision Making Layer

Using the logged information above the model may determine for eachsmall area of the touchscreen interface if it is active or inactive. Athreshold measurement may be made as to the likelihood that an area isinactive. This may be carried out at the granularity of screen pixels orslightly larger areas, for example, 5 mm squares.

Output

The tool may map the original screen layout to a modified screen layoutto avoid putting user interactions in areas where the chance ofinactivity is high. The user interface is therefore altered toaccommodate the inactive areas.

In the given example, when in portrait position the top 20% of the phonewill not have anything requiring touch interaction and, optionally,nothing requiring display.

The monitoring logic and decision-making layer may be provided in theoperating system of a device having a touchscreen interface. When aproblem is determined by this logic the operating system may map agraphical user interface using the model.

In one embodiment, the user may be prompted to download an applicationto assist the process. For example, an application may be provided forthe ad-hoc monitoring tool. In another example, an application may beprovided for mapping the graphical user interfaces of different types ofprograms having displays and user interfaces.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, block diagrams show embodiments of thedescribed system.

A computing device 110 is shown having a touchscreen interface 120 thatalso provides a display interface 404. As is known, a display interface404 may be controlled by a video adapter 403 that generates a feed ofoutput images to the display interface 404. A touchscreen interface 120generally has a touchscreen controller 401, which accepts userinteraction inputs and converts to commands and a touchscreen softwaredriver 402 for providing software functionality.

An operating system 405 and applications 407 running on the computingdevice 110 have graphical user interfaces (GUIs) 406, 408, which enabledisplayed on the display interface 404 of visual graphics includinggraphical elements providing user indications and icons.

The described system provides an interface management tool 410 which isdescribed in more detail with reference to FIG. 4B. The interfacemanagement tool 410 may interact with the video adapter 403, touchscreencontroller 401, and touchscreen software driver 402 to modify thedisplay and interaction with GUIs 406, 408 to compensate for inactiveareas of the touchscreen interface 120.

The interface management tool 410 stores data to and references adatabase 470 of logged data 471 relating to the use of the touchscreeninterface 120.

The functionality of the interface management tool 410 may be providedin the operating system 405 or in an application 407 or a combination ofthe two.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the interface management tool 410 may include amonitoring component 420 and a data logging component 421 for monitoringareas of the touchscreen interface 120 with respect to operation of GUIs406, 408 of applications 405, 407 and the success of such interactionsin the operations.

Optionally, a training component 430 may be provided, for example, as aseparate application, for monitoring of the touchscreen interface 120 ata specific time in response to a user need. The training component 430may provide user instructions to interact with the touchscreen interface120 in a specific manner and the results may be recorded. The trainingcomponent 430 may include a data logging component 431 and a feedbackdisplay component 432.

The interface management tool 410 may include a data analyzing component440 for analyzing the logged data 471 with respect to the operation ofthe touchscreen interface 120 to identify inactive areas. A modelingcomponent 450 may model the remaining active area of the touchscreeninterface 120 and a virtual interface mapping component 460 may map theoriginal screen layout to a modified screen layout based on the modeledactive area.

The virtual interface mapping component 460 may apply the mapping byinstructing the video adapter 403 and touchscreen controller 401 tochange their display and user interactions for GUIs. This may be byresizing, re-organizing the GUIs, rearranging graphical and inputelements, dividing into discrete areas, etc.

The technical problem addressed by the described method and system isthe inoperability of portions of a touchscreen interface and modelingand mapping graphical user interfaces to provide full functionality ofcontrol elements and graphical elements in the remaining operable areaor areas of the touchscreen interface.

Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary system for implementing aspects of theinvention includes a data processing system 500 suitable for storingand/or executing program code including at least one processor 501coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a bus system503. The memory elements may include local memory employed during actualexecution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories whichprovide temporary storage of at least some program code in order toreduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storageduring execution.

The memory elements may include system memory 502 in the form of readonly memory (ROM) 504 and random access memory (RAM) 505. A basicinput/output system (BIOS) 506 may be stored in ROM 504. Software 507may be stored in RAM 505 including system software 508 such as operatingsystem software 509. Software applications 510 may also be stored in RAM505.

The system 500 may also include a primary storage means 511 such as amagnetic hard disk drive and secondary storage means 512 such as amagnetic disc drive and an optical disc drive. The drives and theirassociated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage ofcomputer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the system 500. Software applications may be stored onthe primary and secondary storage means 511, 512 as well as the systemmemory 502.

The computing system 500 may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote computers via a networkadapter 516.

Input/output devices 513 may be coupled to the system either directly orthrough intervening I/O controllers. A user may enter commands andinformation into the system 500 through a touchscreen interface asdescribed herein. Output devices may include speakers, printers, etc. Adisplay device 514 is also connected to system bus 503 via an interface,such as video adapter 515.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a communication device 600 that may beused in embodiments of the disclosure. The communication device 600 maybe a cell phone, a smart phone, a satellite phone, or a computing devicehaving a phone capability, including a wearable device such as glasses,watches, etc.

The communication device 600 may include a processor 605 (e.g., amicroprocessor) for processing the functions of the communication device600 and a display 620 to allow a user to see the phone numbers and otherinformation and messages. The communication device 600 may furtherinclude an input element 625 in the form of a touchscreen interface asdescribed herein, a speaker 630 to allow the user to hear voicecommunication, music, etc., and a microphone 635 to allow the user totransmit his or her voice through the communication device 600.

The processor 605 of the communication device 600 may connect to amemory 615. The memory 615 may be in the form of a computer-readablemedium that stores data and, optionally, computer-executableinstructions.

The communication device 600 may also include a communication element640 for connection to communication channels (e.g., a cellular telephonenetwork, data transmission network, Wi-Fi network, satellite-phonenetwork, Internet network, Satellite Internet Network, etc.). Thecommunication element 640 may include an associated wireless transferelement, such as an antenna.

The communication element 640 may include a subscriber identity module(SIM) in the form of an integrated circuit that stores an internationalmobile subscriber identity and the related key used to identify andauthenticate a subscriber using the communication device 600. One ormore subscriber identity modules may be removable from the communicationdevice 600 or embedded in the communication device 600.

The communication device 600 may further include a contactless element650, which is typically implemented in the form of a semiconductor chip(or other data storage element) with an associated wireless transferelement, such as an antenna. The contactless element 650 may beassociated with (e.g., embedded within) the communication device 600 anddata or control instructions transmitted via a cellular network may beapplied to the contactless element 650 by means of a contactless elementinterface (not shown). The contactless element interface may function topermit the exchange of data and/or control instructions between mobiledevice circuitry (and hence the cellular network) and the contactlesselement 650.

The contactless element 650 may be capable of transferring and receivingdata using a near field communications (NFC) capability (or near fieldcommunications medium) typically in accordance with a standardizedprotocol or data transfer mechanism (e.g., ISO 14443/NFC). Near fieldcommunications capability is a short-range communications capability,such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth, infra-red, orother data transfer capability that can be used to exchange data betweenthe communication device 600 and an interrogation device. Thus, thecommunication device 600 may be capable of communicating andtransferring data and/or control instructions via both a cellularnetwork and near field communications capability.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Improvements and modifications can be made to the foregoing withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

1. A method for management of a touchscreen interface of a device havinga display, the method comprising: identifying specific user interactionswith a virtual button on the touchscreen interface with respect to botha portrait display position and a landscape display position;identifying manual circumvention of an inactive area of the touchscreeninterface based on determining that the specific user interactions withthe virtual button comprises switching user interactions with thevirtual button between the portrait display position and the landscapedisplay position and recording a successful interaction with the virtualbutton in only one of the portrait display position and the landscapedisplay position, and recording an unsuccessful interaction with thevirtual button in the other display position; identifying the inactivearea of the touchscreen interface based on the identified manualcircumvention; and mapping an original touchscreen interface to amodified touchscreen interface resulting in only use of remaining activeareas.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a location of thevirtual button on the touchscreen interface in the portrait displayposition and is different from a location of the virtual button on thetouchscreen interface in the landscape display position.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein a location of the identified inactive areaof the touchscreen interface is substantially the same as the locationof the virtual button in the display position in which the specific userinteractions with the virtual button were unsuccessful.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein identifying specific user interactionswith the virtual button on the touchscreen interface includesidentifying specific user interactions for different applicationgraphical user interfaces.
 5. The method according to claim 1, whereinidentifying manual circumvention of the inactive area of the touchscreeninterface includes dividing the touchscreen interface into discreteareas and determining if each area is active or inactive; and whereinmapping the original touchscreen interface to the modified touchscreeninterface uses the discrete areas to form the modified touchscreeninterface.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying thespecific user interactions with the virtual button on the touchscreeninterface include invoking a training interaction prompting a user tointeract with the touchscreen interface according to a pre-definedpattern displayed on the touchscreen interface.
 7. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising: changing the color of the touchscreeninterface, in real-time, in response to the user interacting with thetouchscreen interface according to a pre-defined pattern displayed onthe touchscreen interface, wherein a first color indicates active areasof the touchscreen interface and a second color indicates inactive areasof the touchscreen interface.
 8. A computer system for management of atouchscreen interface of a device having a display, the computer systemcomprising one or more computer processors, one or morecomputer-readable storage media, and program instructions stored on theone or more computer-readable storage media for execution by at leastone of the one or more computer processors, the program instructionscomprising: program instructions to identify specific user interactionswith a virtual button on a touchscreen interface with respect to both aportrait display position and a landscape display position; programinstructions to identify manual circumvention of an inactive area of thetouchscreen interface based on determining that the specific userinteractions with the virtual button comprises switching userinteractions with the virtual button between the portrait displayposition and the landscape display position and recording a successfulinteraction with the virtual button in only one of the portrait displayposition and the landscape display position, and recording anunsuccessful interaction with the virtual button in the other position;program instructions to identify the inactive area of the touchscreeninterface based on the identified manual circumvention; and programinstructions to map an original touchscreen interface to a modifiedtouchscreen interface resulting in only use of remaining active areas.9. The computer system according to claim 8, wherein a location of thevirtual button on the touchscreen interface in the portrait displayposition and is different from a location of the virtual button on thetouchscreen interface in the landscape display position.
 10. Thecomputer system according to claim 8, wherein a location of theidentified inactive area of the touchscreen interface is substantiallythe same as the location of the virtual button in the display positionin which the specific user interactions with the virtual button wereunsuccessful.
 11. The computer system according to claim 8, wherein theprogram instructions to identify specific user interactions with thevirtual button on the touchscreen interface include program instructionsto identify specific user interactions for different applicationgraphical user interfaces.
 12. The computer system according to claim 8,wherein the program instructions to identify the specific userinteractions with the virtual button on the touchscreen interfaceinclude program instructions to invoke a training interaction promptinga user to interact with the touchscreen interface according to apre-defined pattern displayed on the touchscreen interface.
 13. Thecomputer system according to claim 8, further comprising: programinstructions to change the color of the touchscreen interface, inreal-time, in response to the user interacting with the touchscreeninterface according to a pre-defined pattern displayed on thetouchscreen interface, wherein a first color indicates active areas ofthe touchscreen interface and a second color indicates inactive areas ofthe touchscreen interface.
 14. A computer program product for managementof a touchscreen interface of a device having a display, the computerprogram product comprising one or more computer-readable storage mediaand program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readablestorage media, the program instructions comprising: program instructionsto identify specific user interactions with a virtual button on atouchscreen interface with respect to both a portrait display positionand a landscape display position; program instructions to identifymanual circumvention of an inactive area of the touchscreen interfacebased on determining that the specific user interactions with thevirtual button comprises switching user interactions with the virtualbutton between the portrait display position and the landscape displayposition and recording a successful interaction with the virtual buttonin only one of the portrait display position and the landscape displayposition, and recording an unsuccessful interaction with the virtualbutton in the other position; program instructions to identify theinactive area of the touchscreen interface based on the identifiedmanual circumvention; and program instructions to map an originaltouchscreen interface to a modified touchscreen interface resulting inonly use of remaining active areas.
 15. The computer program productaccording to claim 14, wherein a location of the virtual button on thetouchscreen interface in the portrait display position and is differentfrom a location of the virtual button on the touchscreen interface inthe landscape display position.
 16. The computer program productaccording to claim 14, wherein a location of the identified inactivearea of the touchscreen interface is substantially the same as thelocation of the virtual button in the display position in which thespecific user interactions with the virtual button were unsuccessful.17. The computer program product according to claim 14, wherein theprogram instructions to identify specific user interactions with thevirtual button on the touchscreen interface include program instructionsto identify specific user interactions for different applicationgraphical user interfaces.
 18. The computer program product according toclaim 14, wherein the program instructions to identify manualcircumvention of the inactive area of the touchscreen interface includeprogram instructions to divide the touchscreen interface into discreteareas and determining if each area is active or inactive; and whereinmapping the original touchscreen interface to the modified touchscreeninterface uses the discrete areas to form the modified touchscreeninterface.
 19. The computer program product according to claim 14,wherein the program instructions to identify the specific userinteractions with the virtual button on the touchscreen interfaceinclude program instructions to invoke a training interaction promptinga user to interact with the touchscreen interface according to apre-defined pattern displayed on the touchscreen interface.
 20. Thecomputer program product according to claim 14, further comprising:program instructions to change the color of the touchscreen interface,in real-time, in response to the user interacting with the touchscreeninterface according to a pre-defined pattern displayed on thetouchscreen interface, wherein a first color indicates active areas ofthe touchscreen interface and a second color indicates inactive areas ofthe touchscreen interface.